WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, applauding the news that 7.1 million people signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, set the stage Tuesday for Democrats to move beyond the law's rocky rollout and go on the offense.

Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, the president offered one of his most forceful defenses of the law in months after a surge in sign-ups Monday pushed enrollment past the seven million mark....

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Seven Million Enroll in Health Plans

More than seven million people signed up for health insurance through state and federal exchanges before the enrollment deadline at midnight Monday. Louise Radnofsky reports on the News Hub. Photo: Getty Images.